The dirty side of wind energy

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Zapotec campesinos repair a fence on their land in La Venta, a town in Mexico's state of Oaxaca. Foreign companies have developed windfarms throughout the windy region. Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

Fishermen of Pueblo Viejo de San Dionisio, an isolated fishing community, begin their work at dawn. Their town is embroiled in a land dispute over wind farming. Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

Teodulo Gallegos Pablo, a fisherman and village authority, fishes for shrimp outside Pueblo Viejo de San Dionisio, located on the shore of Laguna Superior. Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

A fisherman of San Mateo cuts palms to protect his boat from the harsh sun. Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

A young boy plays baseball against the backdrop of wind farms in La Venta, Oaxaca. The Isthmus of Tehuantapec, where indigenous people have long held land communally, is the center of a "wind rush." Foreign wind developers have found it a prickly place to acquire land for windfarms.Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

Francisco Valle Piamonte is the mayor of San Mateo, a traditional village that has blockaded a neighboring town, Santa Maria. Santa Maria sold land rights to wind developers in an area San Mateo considers sacred.Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

Teodulo Gallegos Pablo (far left), a fisherman and village authority, at home with his daughter and wife, in Pueblo Viejo de San Dionisio. The town assembly unanimously voted to allow a windfarm on town land. Money began flowing to the assembly, but none reached the people who will host the turbines, says Mr. Gallegos. Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

A fisherman in Pueblo VIejo de San Dionisio, shields himself from the wind. The Isthmus of Tehuantapec is one of the world’s most continuously windy regions. Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

A woman sells flowers in the market of Juchitan in the Isthmus of Tehuantapec. The region's indigenous people have communally held their land since ancient times and are involved in disputes with wind developers acquiring land for wind farms.Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

Young Ikootz students practice a dance for a town performance in San Mateo. The wind farms have exacerbated old rivalries between the villages of Santa Maria and San Mateo del Mar – two Huave towns sharing a Manhattan-size peninsula.Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor

A restaurant sells coffee and tourist items in hopes of new business brought in by the windfarms in La Venta. Dominic Bracco II/Prime/Special to The Christian Science Monitor